Tamil Nesan (and the Star) today reported that Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, Minister in the Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry suggested that the government hand out allowances to civil servants to buy books. This in the spirit of promoting reading.
While the gesture shows the ministry’s seriousness in promoting what is no doubt a good habit, one must wonder if giving people a buck for a book (well... Ringgit if you insist) would actually see our book readership population rise from 13%.
According to the National Library, only 2.8% of Malaysians read newspapers and 8.2% read magazines. A sad number, one must admit.
I wonder though, if the reason people hardly read is because they couldn’t afford to do so. Surely there are more than 2.8% of Malaysians who are in the middle income bracket – hence enough disposable income to buy a book. If a newspaper only cost over RM1 yet lack readership, one can hardly say the fault lies at the pricing of reading material.
Besides, if price was really the issue, then there’s the good ol’ National Library that charges RM5 for membership and RM0 for borrowing a book. Granted, the National Library is no MPH bookstore (and all the really good books are located in the higher floors and can only be read within the vicinity) but I’ve read and borrowed more than enough good books to know that the library is good enough for the ferocious reader who likes to borrow three books a month.
Instead, most people when questioned cite a lack of time for the reason their bookshelves are bare
. Simple arithmetic tells us that a movie takes two and a half hours at most to watch. While a book takes from three days to a month – depending on how much time you spend reading.
And I suppose, how much attention span do we have on a story, anyway?
Then, there’s the fact that going out for a movie means meeting up with friends and possibly followed by a nice dinner.
Even if one were to watch a movie alone at home, it’s infinitely easier to switch off from the daily grind and immerse yourself in a film that will end before it’s your turn to do the house chores again.
By this point, you probably think yours truly is against reading or the promotion of it. On the contrary – I feel reading is a habit we should cultivate from a very young age. The saying ‘Start ‘em young’ is a cliché when it comes to promoting the habit of reading.
The very fact that reading requires more brain cells than watching a film – (imagination in a descriptive text, concentration when a single sentence forms the entire paragraph, extensive vocabulary and occasionally, the patience to reach quickly for a dictionary when the author decides to use a bombastic word to underline his superior education) – means it has to be a labour of love. The joy of reading has to be the reason we go out and buy books.
People easily part with a few hundred Ringgit on clothes and fancy dinners yet think twice about getting the latest publication not because they lack the financial ability to do so but because they doubt the value they’re getting for their money.
Perhaps, instead of offering cash for a union of man and book, we could understand that reading as a past time – should be encouraged and promoted for what it is – an enjoyable way to spend time.
